Hopes are high that construction will begin next month on the 88-foot traditional Bermudian sloop to be used as a floating classroom for Bermuda?s schoolchildren.

And with Education Minister Paula Cox emphasising new ?character education? initiatives in the public education system in the House of Assembly on Friday night ? including a Living Values programme for primary school teachers, and a Rites of Passage programme for middle school students ? the goals of the Ministry and the Bermuda Sloop Foundation (BSF) appear to be in harmony.

?Companies are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to send teams learning on sloops,? said Nelson Brangman of the National Training Board, which has thrown its support behind the BSF.

?We can produce far more well-balanced individuals heading into the workforce with a programme like this.

?This is an opportunity that I don?t think we in good conscience can ignore.?

The premiss behind the BSF is that a sail-training vessel is one of the best platforms for learning skills from all forms of industry: engineering, culinary, science, technical skills, leadership skills, team-building, and so on.

Such an opportunity for expeditionary learning, the hands-on learn by doing philosophy pioneered by the Outward Bound programme, is one that Mr. Brangman, along with BSF directors Alan Burland and Malcolm Kirkland, felt was absolutely necessary for Bermuda?s 4,800 teenagers.

?Students learn best when they are at risk in a safe environment,? said Mr. Burland.

?There is no finer vehicle for that environment than a sail training vessel.?

The BSF is an idea very similar to the basis for the world-famous Sea Education Association (SEA) based in Woods Hole, Massachusetts (see www.sea.edu for more information).

However, while SEA focuses more on college students from Bermuda, the BSF will be targeting middle- and high-school students in the 14-20 year old range in Bermuda.

Students would be able to work in the various training areas on the sloop for varying periods of time as part of their school curriculum as well as outside of school.

They will be able to learn technical skills, culinary skills, navigational skills, learn about the environment, conduct science projects, and take part in various other hands-on experiences.

?They will have to do everything,? said Mr. Kirkland, emphasising the wide scope of skills students will practice on board the sloop.

?You like engines? I got a big engine for you. They can apply the knowledge they acquire.?

?There is a misguided slanting among Bermudians,? said Mr. Brangman.

?Everybody?s got to be an accountant, actuary or analyst. It?s international business or bust.?

However, with 70 percent of the workforce based on technical skills and insurance companies depending on information from organisations like the Bermuda Biological Station, Mr. Brangman said the sloop had much to offer.

?We want to teach the whole brain, and add a sense of community,? said Mr. Burland.

BSF also plans to use the sloop to reinvigorate Bermuda?s maritime heritage and re-emphasise the Bermudian spirit in an age of encroaching globalisation.

Mr. Burland explained that involves all Bermudians, not just whites, for in the age of sail in the 1800s many black people sailed and owned Bermuda sloops. ?It?s a rich history and one we feel needs to be remembered as it was.?

The directors also hoped the sloop, while primarily for educating Bermuda?s youth, would be used further to promote Bermuda and tourism abroad.

Final fund-raising for the $3.8 million sloop has to be completed, and the directors hope construction will begin next month in Rockport, Maine.

An up-coming contest will be held to name the sloop.

Further information can be found at www.bermudasloop.org.